


Dinner's On Me

by indiepjones46



Series: First Time Fix-Its [6]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cargument, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Tag, First Time, Fix-It, Gay For You, It's a pretty cool story, Jealousy, M/M, POV Danny "Danno" Williams, Season 4 Episode 14 "Sins of the Father", just read it, why am I still awake in order to post this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 04:49:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7999186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indiepjones46/pseuds/indiepjones46
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several days after the the dramatic death of Roy Parrish in his pursuit of clearing his name, the Five-0 team convenes at a rooftop restaurant for dinner and drinks. Danny had no desire to watch his partner on a date with Catherine, especially after months of the woman doing everything in her power to push him away from Steve. The night goes even worse than even Danny could have expected. (Don't worry! It's a HEA story.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: don't own anything copyrighted by the creators and writers, take no credit for the dialogue that came straight from the show
> 
> Beta: None. I wrote this in little more than 24 hours and just wanted to get it out there. Any mistakes are purely my own and I blame it on the fact that I just finished it at 1 am in the morning.
> 
> Notes: This "fix-it" fic isn't as closely tied to the original plot of the show as closely as some of my other ones are. What really caught my attention in this episode was the interaction between Danny and Catherine. The way she walks right past Danny to ensure Steve is okay after the gunfight just sparked my imagination. But when Danny sarcastically calls over his shoulder, "I'm fine, too", that's when this idea sparked to life. I hope you enjoy this different take on the "first time" theme. I think it turned out pretty good. Also, just to warn you, there are a lot of italics in this one for some reason. Let's all just agree to go with it.

Danny Williams rode the elevator up to the roof of the restaurant with his daughter, Grace, to meet the rest of the Five-0 team for a celebratory dinner after wrapping their last case. Even though he had hated Roy Parrish for taking him and Steve hostage and threatening to kill him while Grace was listening, he had still connected with the desperate father who risked it all to clear his name for his own daughter. More than anything, Danny was a father first, and he would do anything to protect his little girl.

The elevator door opened and he and Grace made their way over to the big party table where he could see Lou Grover, Kamekona, Chin, Kono, Catherine, and Steve. A chorus of “Hey! Hey! Hey, look who made it!” rang out to greet them as they approached the table. Kono, ever the attentive auntie, patted the seat next to her and said, “Hey, Grace, I got a seat right here for you!” Danny couldn’t help but smile. It warmed his heart how the rest of the team had accepted Grace into their circle with open arms.

Steve, who was clearly already well on his way to drunk, called out, “Yeah! Sit down, guys. Help us finish off these pu-pu’s.” He waved expansively to the platters of appetizers littering the table.

Danny took his seat in the empty chair next to Steve and subtly scooted further away from the man. “Yeah, I don’t, uh, think that sounds right to me, still, to this day,” he brushed off his partner’s offer.

Grace picked up a chicken skewer with her bruised hand and Catherine exclaimed, “Whoa! That is some serious bruising you got there!”

His precious, darling girl, who definitely did not get her mouth from him, replied cockily, “You should see the other guy.”

As the table erupted into laughter, Steve stood unsteadily to his feet and announced, “Okay, I’m gonna go get another round.” Glancing down at the detective, he added, “Danny, come for a walk.”

He tried to ignore the curl of pleasure that unfurled in his gut that Steve had chosen him instead of Catherine, but it was nothing doing. With his suit of sarcastic armor fully in place, he shot back, “Do you need me to pay for it?”

Glancing back over his shoulder, Steve replied, “Nah, I’ve got Catherine’s Amex.”

Standing to his feet, Danny replied drily, “Oh. Nice.” Catching Grace’s eye, he added, “Be right back.”

He followed Steve to the bar while surreptitiously checking out his partner’s ass. Steve looked damn fine in a suit. It wasn’t often that Danny was afforded the opportunity of seeing Steve in anything more than a tee shirt and cargo pants, so when he had arrived and saw Steve outfitted in a gray suit with a crisp, white button-down shirt open at the collar, he’d had to swallow the drool that pooled in his mouth. Part of his pleasure at seeing Steve dressed like this was soured, though, when the thought crossed his mind that Catherine likely had something to do with it. He clenched his jaw against the unwelcome scene his imagination unfolded of Steve and Catherine getting ready for tonight, together, in Steve’s bedroom. He shook away the stab of jealousy and sidled up next to his partner at the bar.

Hailing the bartender, Steve called out, “Hey, uh, can I have three more of these, please?” Fishing a wad of cash out of his pocket, he turned to Danny and said, “And, uh, what are you drinking?”

Danny’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he watched Steve flip through his cash. “I will have a Longboard. Wow.” Glancing back at the table, he added, “Yeah, a Longboard and a Shirley Temple for my date.”

Steve threw down some cash, and Danny observed, “You got money. That’s amazing.”

Rising to the bait, Steve insisted, “Yeah, I work. I make money.”

Danny couldn’t help but feel lighter as the two men easily fell into their typical routine of banter. Picking up the bills laying on the bar, Danny held it up to the light to see if the currency was real.

Steve retrieved his money from Danny and put it back on the bar with an amused quirk of his lips. “Don’t touch it.” Their eyes met and they swapped goofy grins. “You’re welcome,” Steve prompted his partner.

“Oh, thank you very much,” Danny countered as they turned in unison to watch the gathering back at the table as Steve echoed again, “You’re welcome.”

Comfortable silence descended between the two men as they took in the scene at the table. Of course, Danny’s eyes, as always, were riveted on his daughter who was laughing at something Kono was saying. Grace was so beautiful, even with her uneven mix of baby and adult teeth, and he loved that she was making a family with him here on the island.

As if echoing his partner’s thoughts, Steve’s voice broke into his reverie. “She’s a great kid, Danny.”

The sentiment took Danny aback for a second. Not that he thought Steve didn’t love Grace, but he had just assumed that Steve was watching Catherine. You know, his _date_. Recovering quickly, Danny added, “Yeah, she’s got a mean right cross, too.”

He could see Steve turn to look at him out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his gaze firmly fixed on his daughter. It wouldn’t do to get lost in Steve’s hazel gaze. That way lay madness and a whole host of emotions that Danny could do without.

Steve opened his mouth to say something else, but the bartender interrupted by placing their drinks on the bar and collecting the money Steve had lain left there. As she handed the change back to Steve, Danny darted in to rescue a $10 bill from Steve’s hand and gave it back to the hard-working woman. Her smile spread across her face with slow appreciation and Danny winked at her as Steve roughly elbowed him.

“What did you do that for? I was going to tip her,” Steve protested, his eyebrows drawn down in pique as he wrangled three of the glasses.

Danny picked up his frosty bottle of beer and the glass of syrupy soda with cherries floating in it and replied lightly, “Sorry, babe. I just don’t trust you when it comes to parting with cash.”

Steve sighed heavily. “You’re never going to let that go, are you? You’re like a dog with a bone, seriously.”

Danny just shot him an amused grin in reply as they reached the table. He handed Grace her drink and pretended not to notice that Steve’s chair had somehow been moved closer to Catherine’s in their absence which left a noticeable distance between his own chair and Steve’s. He filed the information away to add to all the other little things about the woman that had gotten under his skin since Steve had brought her onboard the team officially. What was one more little annoyance to him? It wasn’t like he could do anything about it anyway.

Steve handed out the drinks, but ignored Catherine’s invitation to regain his seat. Instead, he stood close to Danny’s chair and addressed the youngest attendee. “So, Grace Face, your Danno here tells me that you have a mean right cross. I want to hear all the details.”

Grace’s face lit up with excitement as she eagerly recounted the tale for her riveted admirers. Steve, apparently thrilled with the tale, even insisted that Grace demonstrate how she threw the punch. For the next ten minutes, his goofball partner instructed Danny’s impressionable 11 year old daughter on how to position her fingers to form a tight fist and the best placement for her knuckles to achieve optimal damage on her opponent. Danny felt like he should interrupt his partner’s eager tutoring, especially since Grace was soaking up the knowledge like a greedy sponge, but he couldn’t seem to bring himself to disrupt their fun. Watching Steve interact with Grace was one of his favorite things in the world. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the two of them were thick as thieves, and he was pretty sure that Grace harbored a secret crush on his partner, the former SEAL.

“Like father, like daughter,” Danny mumbled to himself distractedly.

Steve glanced up from where he was crouched next to Grace. “What was that, Danny?”

The blonde detective raised his eyebrows in innocence and shook his head. “What? I didn’t say anything.”

He caught Kono’s shrewd gaze and ignored her unspoken question by turning to Grover to strike up a conversation. The next few hours sped by as they laughed and talked, ate and drank. Danny had switched to water after the first beer, though, cognizant of his responsibility of getting Grace back home safely. Steve, however, was thoroughly enjoying his alcohol, much to Catherine’s obvious annoyance. When she had tried to step in and gently remind the inebriated Commander that he’d had enough, he’d brushed her off by saying, “I’m a big boy, Cath. I know what my limits are. Besides, Danny’s driving me home, so it’s all good.”

Danny was taken by surprise by these turn of events and he turned to shoot his partner a questioning glance. Catherine was apparently surprised, too. “But, Steve, we drove here together,” she reminded him, her frosty tone barely masked by the forced smile on her face.

Steve knocked back the rest of his whiskey on the rocks and slammed the glass down on the table. “You picked me up in your car, Cath. There’s no point in you driving me all the way back home when Danny lives closer to my place than you do.”

The entire table went silent as their audience watched this strange scene take place. Just when it was getting entirely too awkward, Kono cleared her throat. “Hey, uh, Danny? Grace and I were just talking about hitting the beach tomorrow for some surfing lessons. You mind if she comes to my place tonight for a girls’ slumber party?”

Danny frowned. He coveted his time with Grace jealously, and he was none too excited about his baby swimming in the same water as man-eating sharks. Before he could squash the plan, though, Grace batted her eyelashes, clasped her hands, and begged, “Pleeeeease, Danno? I packed my bathing suit and everything!”

A thump to his shoulder diverted him and he turned to see Steve grinning ear to ear. “Yeah, Danno. Let ‘er go. She’s in good hands with Kono.”

Danny threw his hands up with exasperation. “Looks like I’m outnumbered here. Fine, we’ll get your bag out of the Camaro on the way out, but I want you to stick to Kono like glue in the water, you hear me?”

Grace nodded enthusiastically before turning back to her conspirator to whisper and giggle excitedly. The sound of a chair’s legs scraping back gained everyone’s attention again. Cath stood to her feet, her purse clutched in her hands, and smiled grimly. “Well, I think I’ll call it a night. I’m exhausted.”

Steve nodded and grinned, oblivious to the expectation that he should walk her out. With natural grace and charm, Lou rose to his feet and said, “The little woman will be looking for me if I don’t head home. Come on, Catherine. I’ll walk you out.”

Cath took a deep breath and accepted gratefully before turning back to say her goodbyes to each person by name, conveniently leaving Danny out. He hoped no one else had noticed, but by the uncomfortable looks being traded between Kono and Chin, he knew his hopes were in vain.

The party was quick to break up after that. Kamekona left next, escorted by Chin who was good-naturedly listening to a business pitch by the crafty entrepreneur. Danny flagged down their server, requested to-go containers for the leftover food, and stood to his feet. “I’m just going to the bar to make sure our tabs have been settled before we go,” he explained before beating a hasty retreat from the table.

Back at the bar, he flagged down the pretty woman who had shamelessly flirted with him throughout the evening ever since he left her that tip. Danny loved to flirt. In fact, he considered himself to be a master at it with women and men both. His natural ability to read people made him an excellent detective, but it made him an even better flirt. He enjoyed the games, the innuendos, and the flash of laughter he could pull from people by turning up the charm. He had learned from a young age that his height, or lack thereof, put him at a distinct disadvantage in attracting potential mates, but his quick wits and charisma had more than made up the difference.

It hadn’t taken him long to learn her name, and she was giving off all the right vibes. If he was lucky, his long dry spell just might be broken by the sexy bartender. She laughed as he teased her about her uniform before pulling an ink pen from her pocket and grabbing a napkin. Danny couldn’t hide the grin that crept up his face as he watched her write her phone number in elegant script. Before she could finish, though, Danny felt a familiar arm thrown over his shoulder before he was pulled roughly into someone’s body.

Steve’s alcohol-fueled breath wafted across his cheek as his partner purred, “What’s taking you so long, babe? Gracie is ready to go, and we need to get back home. I’m ready for bed, aren’t you?”

Danny’s nostrils flared as he watched the bartender’s eyes widen before narrowing to angry slits. Without another word, she plucked the napkin up, wadded it into a ball, and threw it in the trash as she walked away. His temper flared as Steve laughed and clapped him on the back like it was the funniest joke in the world. Danny didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment, too many witnesses, so he contented himself with flinging Steve’s arm off his shoulder and stalking away.


	2. Chapter 2

As Danny had loaded Grace’s bag in the Jeep, Kono’s expressive face had promised uncomfortable questions in his near future, but he had just shook his head at her before kissing his daughter goodnight. He had ignored Steve’s zealous and effusive farewells to the two females and dragged the man to the passenger seat of the car with a death glare that spoke for itself. By the time they had made it halfway to Steve’s house, Danny still hadn’t said a word as he strangled the steering wheel in his white-knuckled grip.

By contrast, Steve was jittery and restless in the seat next to him as he jiggled his knee and drummed his fingers on his leg. Finally, when Danny was sure he was going to have break the man’s fingers, Steve said, “So, are you not talking to me now?” When Danny’s only reply was to blow steam out his nostrils, his partner continued, “C’mon, Danny. It was just a joke! I don’t get why you’re so mad. She wasn’t even that pretty, to be honest. You could do much better.”

Danny pulled the car into the driveway, but didn’t shut off the engine. “Get out,” he ordered coldly.

Steve’s face turned mulish as he crossed his arms. “No, I’m not getting out of the car until you tell me why you’re so pissed.”

Danny couldn’t swallow back the bitter laughter that bubbled up his throat. “Are you serious right now? You’re asking _me_ why I’m pissed?”

“Yeah, I’m asking. Talk to me, Danny. We never talk to each other anymore. You’re never around,” Steve shot back, resentment lacing his voice.

Danny ran his hand down his face and prayed to whichever god was listening to give him patience. He didn’t want to do this right now. He didn’t want to talk to Steve and tell him every reason why he was pissed off at the man. He didn’t have all night. “We see each other every single day at work, Steven. We just hung out for several hours at the bar. You remember that, don’t you? Back there where you completely cock-blocked me like an asshole,” he pointed out, hoping his attempt to deflect would work.

It didn’t. “I’m not talking about work or hanging out with the rest of the team,” Steve answered, conveniently ignoring that last part. “I’m talking about just me and you. You don’t come by the house anymore, with or without Grace. What’s going on with you?”

Danny spun in his seat and stared at his clueless partner with incredulity. “Oh, so all of that is _my_ fault? I’m the one to blame? That’s fucking priceless, is what that is. This isn’t just your house anymore, Steve. You get that, don’t you? For the past six months, this has been yours and Catherine’s place. In case you haven’t noticed, she rolled up the welcome mat months ago.”

Steve reared back as if Danny had slapped him with his words. Danny hadn’t meant to let that last part slip out, but the months of Catherine’s territorial pissing contest over Steve had taken its toll on him. Not even a few days ago, after the gunfight they had encountered during their merry little jaunt with Roy Parrish, Catherine had jogged right past him without a word to make sure Steve was alright. Danny hadn’t bothered to hide his scorn that time, either, as he had sarcastically called over his shoulder, _“I’m fine, too!”_ He liked Catherine all right, respected the hell out of the woman, but she had made it more than plain to him that she was the one watching Steve’s back now, both literally and figuratively.

“Are you jealous, Danny? Is that what this is all about?” Steve demanded, his own temper showing on his face.

A red haze of fury fell over the detective’s vision. “I swear to God that I am going to choke you if you say that again,” he warned his partner through clenched teeth. It didn’t matter that Steve had gotten it mostly right; what mattered was the point he was obviously missing. “You have a girlfriend, Steven. It is only natural that you would spend less time with your friends and more time with her. That is what happens in relationships. That is what Catherine expects from you. Why are you acting like this is new information?”

Steve looked genuinely perplexed. “Cath doesn’t expect anything from me, Danny. And how many times do I have tell you that she’s not my girlfriend? We have an _understanding_. Like friends with benefits, but I care about her, too. That’s not the same thing as a…a…relationship,” he argued.

Hysterical laughter blossomed from Danny’s lips. “He cannot be this stupid. It’s not possible,” he tried to convince himself. Turning to face his maddening partner, Danny addressed him directly. “Let me lay the facts out for you, babe, and try to keep up. Don’t hesitate to correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t anticipate the need.” When Steve just glared in reply, Danny began his list as he counted off with each finger. “One, you kiss, grope, touch, and have sex with this woman. Two, she spends more nights here than she does in her own home. Three, you provide for her by offering her a job at Five-0. Four, she goes to the grocery with you and cooks you meals. Five, you spend most of your spare time together. Six, she goes out of her way to ensure that you sit together and drive together.” He stopped to take a deep breath. “Do I really need to keep going? I can, you know. I’ve got four more fingers and ten toes. Now, in what universe do you live in where all of that doesn’t constitute a relationship?”

Steve blinked in silence for a moment before he replied softly, “I do all of that but one with you, too. Are we in a relationship?”

Danny’s stomach dropped as the truth of Steve’s words hit him like a ton of bricks. He decided the best course of action was ignore it and plow forward. “Look, I don’t begrudge you anything you have with Cath, no matter what you want to call it. You just have to understand that she feels threatened by how much time we spend together, and I get it. You and she have your own thing going on, and I respect that. I’m not saying that I blame her for anything or I’m angry with her. It is what it is. There’s only room in this scenario for two, and I won’t be a spare wheel that gets in between the both of you.”

Steve’s eyes snapped up to meet his and anger blazed in his eyes. “Has she said something to you? Did she tell you not to come around? That doesn’t sound like her. She loves you and Grace, and more importantly, she knows I do, too. What makes you think that you’re not welcome here?”

Danny slumped in his seat with defeat. His left eye was twitching and his head was pounding out a rhythm that sounded a lot like _Quit talking, you schmuck._ He sighed deeply and idly wondered if he had any pain meds left at home as he replied, “No, she has never outright said we weren’t welcome. She didn’t have to. She says it with actions, her body language, her vague excuses, her insistence on making sure I know your time is accounted for, and in the way she ignores me unless it directly involves a case we’re working. Have you seriously not noticed? How can I make you see this if you insist on being blind? Damn it, Steve! You asked me if I was jealous earlier, and I’m here to tell you, you’re asking the wrong person.”

Silence, thick and twisted, snaked through the car until it slithered deep inside Danny’s guts to coil into a lead weight. He wished he could bite his stupid tongue off as Steve retreated behind his poker face made of stone. He wanted to apologize, to take it all back, but his pride wouldn’t let him. Steve had to face the reality of his situation on his own. The only thing Danny could do was to give him clarity. Whatever his partner decided to do with it from there was his decision.

Finally, after an eternity of tense stillness, Steve rebooted and his body moved. He unfastened his seatbelt and opened the passenger door. Before exiting, and without looking at Danny, he said in a monotone voice, “Thanks for the ride home.” And then, he exited the vehicle, shut the door firmly, and walked into his house without looking back.


	3. Chapter 3

“What did you do?” Kono hissed through clenched teeth when Danny arrived to pick up Grace late the next afternoon.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows in surprise at her animosity. He had a feeling he was missing something. “You’ll have to be a little more specific than that, doll. I’m at a loss over here.”

Kono glanced down the hall where Danny could hear Grace taking a shower. She grabbed him with a bruising grip and hauled him into the kitchen where they were even further away from the sound of his daughter happily singing a Taylor Swift song at the top of her lungs. When she was satisfied that they wouldn’t be overheard, she turned her wrath on him in full. “I’m talking about Steve, you moron. What happened last night?”

Danny shifted uncomfortably under the Hawaiian woman’s gimlet stare. “Nothing, Kono, I swear. I mean, we did have a heated exchange, but it wasn’t any worse than usual.”

Kono narrowed her exotically slanted eyes. Suspicion colored her voice when she asked, “What did you argue about exactly?”

Danny could feel himself getting defensive as he demanded, “What’s this all about? Why the third degree?”

The Asian beauty ran long fingers through her sun-kissed dark locks. “I just got off the phone with Chin right before you got here. It seems that Steve left him a voicemail stating that he had to leave town for a few weeks and asked him to run things while he was gone. No explanation, no details, no more information. Chin tried to call him back, but it just goes straight to the recording. Then, he drove by Steve’s house, and it’s empty even though the truck was sitting in the driveway. He’s gone, Danny. So, the way I see it, you either said something to him to make him bolt, or he was taken against his will and the kidnappers are covering their tracks.”

Danny absorbed her words in slow motion. He couldn’t seem to get past the words _he had to leave_. Those four words just kept repeating on a loop in his mind, over and over. _He had to leave…he had to leave…_ followed closely by _he’s gone…he’s gone…he’s gone…_

Fingers snapping in his face brought him back to the present with jarring speed. “Danny! Snap out of it! What do we need to do?”

The detective in him elbowed his way to the surface and took over. “Did Steve say anything about dinner in his message?”

Kono stared at him as if he were nuts, but she slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, now that you mention it, Chin said that Steve told him ‘ _Tell Danny that when I get back, dinner is on me.’_ ”

Relief, sweet and cool like spring water, flowed through Danny’s body followed quickly by a roaring tide of biting, sweltering anger. “He’s left of his own free will, Kono. There’s nothing we can do but wait for him to come back.”

“What? Why would you say that? How do you know that?” she sputtered, her own temper getting the better of her.

Danny paced away and then back a few times just to burn off some of the helpless fury that made his head spin. “It’s an inside joke that he came up with after he got back from chasing Shelburne to Japan. We had a huge blowout about him running off without a word, and he apologized by promising to buy me dinner. It’s a big fucking joke to him now. Every time I get pissed at him for doing something stupid, he promises to be buy me dinner to make up for it.”

Kono slowly sank down into a kitchen chair. “Oh,” she said softly, a wealth of understanding in her tone. “What happened last night, Danny?”

Danny scrubbed his face until he thought his nose was ground down to a nub. “We had a... disagreement about Catherine.”

“God! I’m so stupid!” Kono exclaimed, popping herself on the forehead with her palm. “Catherine! Why didn’t I think to call her?” Her fingers scrabbled at her pocket to retrieve her cell phone.

Before she could start tapping at the screen, Danny placed his hand on hers to stop her. “Listen, can you wait to call her after I leave? I’d rather not, uh, get in the middle of it if this is somehow tied to her.”

Kono’s eyes softened and her tone was gentle when she replied, “I’d say it’s far too late for that, Danny.”

He was saved from answering when Grace skipped into the kitchen clutching her bag. Her face was wreathed in a happy smile and her hair was dark and dripping water down her back to stain her pink tee shirt. Her chatter filled the tense silence as she told her father all about the surfing lesson and shaved ice at Kamekona’s. He forced himself to smile and return her conversation, but his heart wasn’t in it. No, his heart was somewhere out there, lost in the crush of humanity, along with his partner.

After hushed promises with Kono to keep each other informed, Danny escorted Grace to the car. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from driving by Steve’s house, even though it was out of the way, as he headed toward home, but the house was dark and without life. Just like his mind. Just like his heart.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been three long, hellish weeks, and still no word from Steve. When Danny had shown up for work the following Monday, Kono told him and Chin that Catherine wouldn’t be coming back, either. She was going back on active duty effective immediately and had put in for a transfer to another base off of Hawaii. When Danny had asked if Catherine mentioned what had happened, Kono had flinched before reluctantly adding, “No, she wouldn’t go into details, but she did say, ‘ _Tell Danny he won_ ’.” When Chin and Kono had both looked to him for an explanation, he’d had none to give. He didn’t feel like he had won anything. In fact, he had never felt like a bigger loser in his life.

Every day that passed felt like an eternity to him. He tried to drown himself in work, which wasn’t that difficult since they were now down two members, but Lou Grover stepped in to offer them a hand when they needed it. Each time Danny slid into the driver’s seat of his Camaro, he felt a frisson of _wrongness_. He had gotten so used to Steve commandeering his keys that it just didn’t feel right to drive his own car anymore. He kept expecting his partner to come striding into the bullpen, hands on hips, and barking orders for them to follow, but there was only silence. He avoided the speculative gazes of his coworkers and brushed off their concern with false cheer. Steve hadn’t died. He was just gone.

When he wasn’t working or spending time with Grace, Danny was driving the streets of Honolulu. He knew it was a lost cause, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from investigating every place he knew that Steve had lived or spent time in his years growing up. He haunted Jack McGarrett’s grave, prowled the beach behind Steve’s house, checked in with Kamekona and Mamo each day, and almost got arrested when he got into a shouting match with an MP at the gates of Pearl Harbor. He knew he was making himself crazy, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. His moods swung back and forth like an out-of-control pendulum that careened from anger to depression before swinging back to guilt and self-recrimination.

By the time Friday evening had rolled around, he was exhausted, mentally and physically. Chin and Kono had forced him to exit the Palace with them and watched as he got into his car. Kono had leaned into the driver’s window and glared at him. “You drive straight home, Danny. Do not pass ‘Go’, do not collect $200. You get something to eat, and you go to bed. If you go traipsing around the island again, I will find out about it and I’ll kick your ass. Got it?”

Danny had chuckled and assured her that he would follow her instructions. He was just too tired to do anything else. He drove home in a daze, for once not taking the long way by Steve’s house, and staggered into his house. His thoughts were disjointed as he rifled through his empty cabinets and peered into his refrigerator looking for something to eat, but he couldn’t bring himself to so much as heat up a can of soup. With a gusty sigh, he placed a call to the pizza joint and ordered his usual. As he waited for the delivery guy, he made his way back to his room to strip down and take a shower. The water felt like a benediction as it steamed out the cricks in his neck and eased the tense muscles in his back. When the blistering water began to run out, he finally turned the knobs and reluctantly exited the shower. He dried himself quickly, ran a comb through his unruly blonde hair, and dressed himself in comfortable sweats and an old Bon Jovi concert tee.

As he padded back to the living room on bare feet, the doorbell rang. He grabbed his wallet, fished out a twenty, and opened the door to pay the delivery man. Except it wasn’t his usual delivery man.

“I told you dinner was on me when I got back,” Steve said, shifting nervously from foot to foot as Danny’s pizza balanced on his palm.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny didn’t say anything for long, painful moments as he wrestled with whether or not to close the door in his partner’s face. Finally, he pushed the door open wider and stepped back to let the man inside. He closed and locked the door behind him and followed Steve into his kitchen. Without a word, he pulled two plates from the cabinet while Steve retrieved two Longboards from the fridge as if he hadn’t just spent the last three weeks MIA.

They ate in uncomfortable silence, but Danny stubbornly refused to be the one to speak first. He wasn’t the one who had run away. He wasn’t the one that had left his _ohana_ behind without a trace. He wasn’t the one who had disappeared on his partner without a word.

“I know you’re pissed, Danny.” Steve’s whispered confession brought Danny’s icy blue eyes up to meet his hazel ones. “You have every right to be furious, but I hope you’ll let me explain.”

Danny pushed his plate away and took a deep swallow of beer before he answered. “I’m listening.”

Steve released a deep sigh and began his tale. “That night you brought me home changed everything. Up to that point, I had been coasting along, trying my damndest to be happy and feel normal, but no matter how hard I tried, nothing seemed to fit where it belonged. I don’t really know how to explain it. I was with Catherine, because it was easy and effortless, you know? It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the one I really wanted, and it didn’t matter that being with her left me unsatisfied and incomplete. Being with her was what made sense to me, because I didn’t know how to have what I really wanted. I didn’t realize how horribly unfair that was to her until you pointed it out in your blunt, tactless way. It was a hard blow to take when I finally understood that I had been using her this whole time without even recognizing it. I have never felt like such a complete and utter tool in my life.”

Danny’s heart pounded as Steve’s words tumbled from his lips with self-loathing. Swallowing past his dry throat, Danny rasped, “What happened with Cath?”

Despair clouded the SEAL’s hazel eyes, turning them a stormy blue as he answered, “I went to her house the next morning and we had a long talk. Well, I talked while she yelled and cried. It was awful, Danny. She said some pretty nasty things, but I had earned every bit of it. I told her the truth. I told her that I couldn’t love her like she needed me to and that she deserved to be with someone who could give her their whole heart. I told her that I cared for her, but that my heart belonged to someone else. She didn’t take that very well. At all.”

“I bet,” Danny replied, his voice faint. He couldn’t seem to gather his thoughts to ask the obvious question, but he should have known that Steve would answer it anyway.

Steve chuckled darkly as he picked at the label on his beer. “It wasn’t a surprise to her. Not really. She didn’t even have to ask who it was, because she already knew. She blew a fuse. Apparently, I was very wrong in thinking she liked you. In fact, her opinion of you borders somewhere between loathing and contempt, and once I confirmed her suspicions, she didn’t hold back. The whole situation kind of unraveled after that, and we ended things permanently, if not amicably.”

Danny swayed as a wave of dizziness washed over him. His breath stuttered as he inhaled, trying to feed much needed oxygen to his brain, before he released it with a whoosh. Clearing his throat, he croaked, “So, uh, you finally figured it out, huh? Good for you.”

“I’ve known for a long time, Danny. I was just scared and uncertain what to do with the knowledge. I’d never even been attracted to a man before I met you. I didn’t think it was possible for me to fall in love with a guy, because I’ve never considered myself to be gay. To be honest about it, I still don’t. But I couldn’t quit thinking about you like that, and it threw me into a tailspin. I couldn’t seem to reconcile the part of me that knew it wanted you with the reality that I had no idea how to accomplish it. I know now that Catherine wasn’t the only one I treated badly. I coveted you, Danny. Jealously. Even though I couldn’t seem to act on my feelings, I selfishly pulled you closer while pushing everyone else away. You were right in so many ways that night. I ruined your chances with that bartender on purpose. I closed my eyes to what was happening right under my nose. And I definitely was asking the wrong person if they were jealous. I just didn’t realize that I should have been asking myself.”

Danny buried his face in his hands and pressed his palms into his smarting eyes. All the fear, anger, worry, and heartache swelled inside him until he thought his head would explode from the pressure. He wanted nothing more than to bawl like a baby, but he refused to let the tears fall. He never thought he would be hearing Steve say these things to him like echoes of his own secret desires and desperate fantasies. Even though he had given up hope a long time ago on Steve ever being able to return his feelings, it hadn’t stopped him from longing, yearning, and wishing for more. The reality of it actually happening, though, was enough to send his body into quakes of emotion that threatened to rip him apart.

He didn’t resist when he felt Steve grip him by the arms and pull him up from his chair. Long, muscled arms pulled him in tight against a rock-hard chest and squeezed until Danny eventually relaxed. With his eyes still closed against the threat of tears, he breathed deep of Steve’s trademark scent. Hints of an ocean breeze mixed with the sweet coconut fragrance of sunscreen teased his nose before it blended with the crisp scent of soap layered with the clean, pleasing aroma of fabric detergent. It was a heady cocktail that never failed to make him hard, and now was no different.

Before he could pull away, Steve rumbled, “I’m sorry, Danny. For everything. I’m not only an idiot, but the world’s biggest fool for wasting so much time and putting all of us through hell. Am I too late? Did I wait too long?”

Danny’s arms wound behind his partner’s back and he finally returned the man’s hug with his own. He swallowed the thick lump in his throat and forced a laugh. “No, babe, it’s not too late. Almost, but not quite,” he teased lightly. He sobered and pulled away to catch his partner’s eyes. “Where did you go, Steven? Where have you been for the last three weeks?”

A new sort of peace had transformed Steve into someone almost unrecognizable. His eyes were softer, more open, and his smile was genuine with warmth and affection. Stepping away from Danny’s body with obvious reluctance, he picked up the shorter man’s hand and led him to the couch. He didn’t drop Danny’s grip as they settled into the cushions, just adjusted their fingers until they were entwined.

“After I left Cath’s place, my insides were a snarled mess. I had a lot to think about, but I knew I couldn’t do it here. I needed some time to get my head screwed on straight and figure some shit out, so I left the island. I flew to the mainland to spend time with Mary and Joanie for a while and then I headed out to see Aunt Deb. She’s a smart, tough old bird. She helped me put some things in perspective while kicking my ass at the same time,” Steve chuckled fondly as he absently rubbed circles on Danny’s skin with his thumb.

Danny’s breath caught at the small sign of affection. “I always did like her,” he replied with a grin. “I have to say, I am relieved that you spent your time with family. I was worried about you,” Danny confessed with a squeeze of his hand.

A small, secretive smile quirked the corner of Steve’s lips and he pulled his hand away from Danny’s in order to throw his arm around the shorter man’s shoulder. “Oh, I didn’t spend _all_ my time with my family. I was on a mission, too.”

Danny shot him a suspicious glance as he wormed his way in closer to the heat of Steve’s body. “What kind of mission?”

Steve shrugged nonchalantly and replied, “A fact-finding mission. I spent a week in New Jersey tracking down everyone that knew you and grilled them for information. I even had dinner with your folks. Your mom makes a mean chicken tetrazzini and her peanut butter pie is to die for. Can you get her recipe? Oh, and your sisters said to tell you ‘hello’ and ‘fuck off’. Must be a Jersey thing, right? And your nephew Eric said to let you know he wants to come to Hawaii to finish college. No offense, but he’s kind of an idiot.”

Danny pulled away from his partner and goggled at him. “None taken. He _is_ an idiot. Can we rewind to the part where you went to Jersey? On purpose?” Part of him was incensed at Steve’s gall, and the other part of him was touched. “What was it you said to me when you found that postcard in the Camaro? Oh, that’s right. Something along the lines of _‘People from Hawaii do not vacation in New Jersey’_.”

Steve’s eyes glinted with mischief as he firmly pushed Danny back until he was sprawled across the couch. Like a sleek, lethal panther, he crawled his way up the shorter man’s body until they were pressed together from shoulder to hip. Bracing himself on his elbows, he ghosted his lips along the curve of Danny’s jaw. “I told you, Danny. I wasn’t on vacation. I was on a mission. A fact-finding mission involving one Detective Daniel Williams. I did some research, too.”

Danny was having trouble breathing right as Steve’s tongue began painting symbols along his neck. His voice cracked as he tried to keep up his end of the conversation. “Research, huh?”

“Mmm-hmm,” Steve hummed against his skin. “Well, I didn’t know for sure if you would even want me when I got back, but just in case you did, I had to make sure that I knew what I was doing. I’ve never had sex with a man before, so I needed to investigate and conduct experiments to see how it was done.”

If Danny’s cock wasn’t hard before, it was painfully swollen now. “Are you trying to tell me that you slept your way through the male population of Newark? Because I have to tell you, that would be huge turn-off right now.”

Steve’s breath tickled in his ear with a chuckle before he dipped his tongue inside. “Of course not, Danny. I’m not interested in fucking any other man but you. I did most of my research online, but I had to conduct field work, too. I visited some gay dance clubs, sex toy shops, and even found an underground sex club where I could observe a very passionate couple named Roger and Andy. They were a virtual font of information. We traded phone numbers in case I had follow-up questions.”

Danny couldn’t stop his hips from thrusting into Steve’s or hold back the needy moan that ripped from his throat. His voice was strained as he panted, “That is…that is very interesting, Steven. And what was your conclusion to all this research?”

Steve’s chest rumbled as he licked his way back to Danny’s face where he nipped the detective’s chin. “I have concluded that I would be equally comfortable as a top or a bottom. I even practiced with a dildo to see what it was like. That was a very pleasurable and sticky two days spent in my hotel room.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Danny breathed as his imagination conjured images to match his words. “I think I just came in my pants.”

Steve finally, _finally_ , closed the gap between their lips and paved his way into Danny’s mouth with his tongue. The man kissed like he was still on a mission of discovery. His tongue tangled with Danny’s, stroking and plunging, before retreating to attack the detective’s lips with tactical precision using his teeth. Danny moaned into his partner’s mouth as he launched his own offensive maneuvers by advancing until he was able to lick and taste every hidden corner of Steve’s sinful mouth. His hands roamed freely, squeezing and pulling the SEAL’s body in closer, as he arched up to press his steely shaft against Steve’s.

Danny had no idea how long they lay there making out like horny teenagers, and he didn’t really care as long as he could continue touching and groping the man of his every perverse fantasy. Steve, apparently, had other plans.

Pulling back enough to meet Danny’s heavy-lidded eyes, Steve murmured, “How about we take this to your room so I can show you what I learned?”

 


	6. Chapter 6

It took them approximately 20 minutes to make it to Danny’s bed. There was an incident where Danny pushed Steve against the hall wall and wrestled the SEAL’s tee shirt over his head. It wasn’t Danny’s fault that his mouth had to taste and suck on Steve’s small, flat nipples. It just happened. Then, Steve must have decided turnabout was fair play as he countered by pinning Danny stomach-first to the opposite wall. By the time Steve was done with him, Danny was down to only his boxer briefs and his hair was an unholy mess of blonde waves and a hickey was blooming on his shoulder.

When they finally made it to the bed, Danny was out of patience and low on sanity. As his fingers worked feverishly to undo his partner’s cargo pants, he cursed, “Why the fuck didn’t you show up here wearing board shorts, for God’s sake? I can’t get this stupid button out!”

Steve patiently removed Danny’s hands and deftly unfastened the button. Before he dropped them to his feet, however, he paused to rummage around in one of the deep pockets along his leg. When he pulled his hand out, he had a small black bottle and a strip of condoms in his fist. He smirked at Danny’s raised eyebrow and shrugged. “Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.” He held up the little black bottle and added, “Andy said that this is the best lube for anal sex. It’s silicone-based and safe to use with condoms, but I’m hoping we can eventually do away with those anyway.”

Danny’s stomach clenched with a bolt of lust. He licked his lips and ventured, “So, uh, we’re just going to go for it the first time out, huh? No mutual hand jobs or frottage? No blow jobs with a happy ending? We’re diving straight into anal, huh?”

Steve glanced up from where he had been reading the label on the bottle. “Well, I just assumed you would want to, but we can do whatever you want. I found this website that details all the different positions we can try. There’s this one called ‘Teaspoons’ that looked amazing. I-“

“Whoa there, sailor,” Danny interrupted his eager partner. He took a deep breath, pressed a palm to his aching cock, and continued with a strained voice. “How about we just get on the bed and see where our whims take us?”

Steve sat the condoms and lube on the bedside table within easy reach before turning back to Danny. With an eyebrow raised in challenge, Steve dropped his pants and peeled his boxer briefs down his legs to follow. With a seductive swagger that sent his thick, hard cock to swaying, he closed the distance between them and lowered his head until his lips were centimeters away from Danny’s and said, “I’d rather you just take _me_.”

Danny groaned as he sank into the kiss and idly thought that he really might just come in his pants, after all. Before he realized it had happened, they were rolling across the bed, completely naked, as Steve enthusiastically demonstrated all that he had learned during his “mission.” He had never dreamed that Steve would be such a talker during sex. When his lips weren’t actively glued to a part of Danny’s anatomy, he was moaning a dirty litany such as, “Fuck, Danny, you feel so good,” and “Damn, if I’d known your cock tasted like this, I would have been sucking you off on the first day we met.”

Danny moaned, low and filthy, as Steve demonstrated his recently acquired ability to deep throat Danny’s cock and swallow around the crown. Danny’s shoulders came up off the bed and he firmly pushed Steve away from his crotch with a warning. “If you’re wanting to try anything else, you can’t keep doing that, babe.”

Steve’s grin was smug as he ran his big palm down over his mouth to remove the accumulated moisture there. Danny shivered at the picture of raw masculinity that was his partner as the man moved up next to him on the pillows. Their eyes met and held for a timeless moment, and Danny could feel himself tumbling off the edge and freefall into love all over again.

“I really do love you, babe,” Danny whispered raggedly before leaning in to steal a kiss.

When he broke away from the tender liplock, Steve reached a long arm over to the nightstand, grabbed the bottle and a condom, and pressed them into Danny’s hand. “Show me,” he replied, his eyes searching Danny’s with sincerity.

The shorter man took a deep breath as Steve rolled to his stomach to bare his ass. Coming to a decision, Danny reached out and gently turned him back over. “Not that way, babe. Not the first time. I need to see your eyes.”

A dark flush spread up from the SEAL’s chest and crept into his face, but he nodded his agreement for Danny to continue. Grabbing a pillow, Danny directed Steve to lift his ass so he could wedge it underneath him. His hands were shaking as he ripped open the foil pack and carefully rolled it down his aching cock. Then, he popped the cap on the bottle of slick and drizzled it liberally over his fingers before moving the bottle to tip it over his partner’s swollen erection. Steve hissed as the cold liquid made contact, but Danny’s hand was there to warm it up seconds later. His eyes stayed glued to Steve’s expressive face as he trailed his fingers down to massage and stimulate the opening to his partner’s body.

Before he went any further, he caught Steve’s gaze with his own. “Are you sure about this, babe? We can stop any time you want to.”

Steve’s grin was wobbly, but he didn’t hesitate with his answer. “God, yes. I want you, Danny. Just you. Only you.”

Danny closed his eyes and fought for control over his raging emotions. With another deep breath, he opened them back up and pressed inside his lover’s body. His finger met no resistance and a ragged groan from Steve’s throat encouraged him onward. He was riveted by the sight of Steve’s abdomen flexing with each stroke of Danny’s hand over his slick cock and with each thrust of his fingers into Steve’s body. When Danny was two fingers deep inside him, he curled them forward and brushed across the pad of nerves there until Steve cried out and arched off the bed.

“Jesus, you’re fucking beautiful like this,” Danny’s voice was reverent as he catalogued every sound, expression, and movement his partner made as he continued to slide his fingers in and out.

Steve’s breath caught as he gasped, “Please…Danny!”

He wanted to do so much more for this man, but his restraint was at its limit. If he didn’t slide inside him now, he wasn’t going to make it. Quickly yet gently, he retrieved his buried fingers and his right hand that was still slippery from Steve’s cock. He fumbled for the bottle, dropped it, cursed, picked it up again, and made short work of slicking up his cock. After flipping the lid closed, he sidled up to Steve’s body on his knees and lined his cock up with Steve’s ass and pressed firmly inside.

Steve cried out in shock or pleasure, and Danny was quick to resume the steady slip/slide of his hand around Steve’s cock. He worked his way in slowly and steadily, attentive to every noise his partner made in order to gauge his progress.

As Danny thrust inside the last inch, Steve babbled, “Oh, fuck! Oh, shit! Why does this hurt like a bitch and feel so fucking good at the same time?”

Danny laughed hysterically, his control nearly gone. He leaned over to pepper Steve’s sweaty face with kisses and chuckled, “Well, if you weren’t gay before, you are now.”

Steve’s bark of laughter broke off into a ragged moan as Danny rose back up to his full height and began to move his hips. The blonde detective just couldn’t hold back any longer and he prayed that he could hang on long enough to make it good for Steve. He did his damndest to block out his own clawing pleasure in order to focus on Steve’s, but it was nearly impossible. He grit his teeth as he slid his cock in and out of his partner’s slick channel while pumping his hand up and down Steve’s length.

His control slipped further as Steve dug his blunt fingernails into Danny’s trembling thighs and began to _talk_. “Danny…” _pant, pant, pant,_ “Please!” _moan, pant, pant,_ “Fuck, yes!” _grunt, thrust, growl,_ “Oh, holy shit!” _shout, grunt… come._

A rush of euphoria sent Danny higher than a kite while he watched from above as Steve, _his Steve_ , shattered into the most breathtakingly gorgeous thing he had ever witnessed in his life. The SEAL’s head was thrown back, his long, dark eyelashes curling against his cheeks. His arms bulged with strain as he gripped the pillowcase on each side of his head as he braced his feet against the mattress in order to press himself harder onto Danny’s length.

Danny couldn’t hold back his own release as he greedily drank in the sight of Steve’s cock erupting all over his own chest. Danny’s soul rose from his body and soared back to heaven as he came in thunderous waves inside his lover’s ass to the soundtrack of Steve’s rugged, harsh cries. Both of them were panting for breath, eyes closed tight, and their bodies were frozen from the waist down, because one more millimeter of friction would have been too much for them to bear.

Danny knew he needed to move, but he really just wanted to stay right where he was for the rest of his life. His body knew no pain, only pleasure, in his current situation, and that suited him just fine. How was he ever going to be able to keep his dick out of this man?

“God damn, Danny,” Steve panted. “Take me to fucking church.” Steve’s voice was impressed, and completely satisfied.

This startled a laugh out of Danny which triggered the rest of his body to move. A tremor shot through him as his spent shaft slid backward, sending shockwaves through his system like electricity. Steve hissed, then groaned, and pulled his hips back, so Danny took that as his cue to vacate the premises. With extra care, he pulled out of Steve’s sensitive backside, careful to keep the condom from slipping. When he was free, he began to back off the bed before he paused to squeeze Steve’s thigh in a silent gesture that communicated _I’ll be right back_. The man just offered a loopy grin with his eyes still glued shut.

Danny made quick work of cleaning up so he could hurry back to Steve’s side with a clean, damp washcloth. Steve accepted it from him gratefully with a heartfelt “Thank you, buddy.”

Danny shook his head, incredulous at how this night had turned out. “Buddy? I just fucked your brains out, and you’re going to call me ‘buddy’?”

Steve ran the cloth roughly over his chest and down to his crotch. “Well, yeah,” he replied off-handedly. “You’re still my friend, Danny. Just because we love each other and have hot, kinky sex doesn’t mean that we’re not still buddies, too.”

Danny collapsed on the bed next to his best friend and felt younger than he had in years. “Hmm, I like the sound of the hot, kinky sex. The buddy part? It’s not always as much fun.”

Steve tossed the washcloth and set Danny to bouncing by gracelessly floundering on the bed until he had arranged the pillows and blankets to his liking. When he had eventually achieved optimal comfort, the SEAL slung his arm over Danny’s chest and a long, muscled thigh over Danny’s hips. “Maybe you’re right. When the buddy thing starts to suck, we’ll just switch to fucking. I don’t know if you knew this about me or not, but I really, and I mean _really_ , love sex. I hope for your sake that you enjoyed that, too, because otherwise, this situation could get awkward.”

As his chest shook with laughter, Danny idly noted that he had never had this much fun in bed. Of course it would be Steve. His partner was anything but boring. “No fears, babe,” Danny assured the man smothering him with giant limbs. “I have a feeling we may end up in HPD’s jail for indecent exposure and public nudity at some point in the near future. It’s going to be damn near impossible for me to keep my hands off you now.”

Steve snorted into his pillow. “How’s that different from any other day we spend together?”

“You are such an ass,” Danny informed his partner with affection.

Steve hummed in his throat sleepily. “It would be more specific to say I’m such a _sore_ ass.”

Danny winced, but his guilt faded immediately. “How about we do that ‘Teaspoons’ thing tomorrow? I’ll even switch places with you,” Danny offered, his wicked brain already crafting a fantasy in his head.

Steve’s chuckle was dark with promise, sending goosebumps racing over Danny’s skin with anticipation. “I’m going to make you beg. It’s only fair,” Steve promised as he reached a long arm out to switch off the lamp.

As they settled in together, their bodies naturally falling into place like puzzle pieces, Danny whispered, “Oh, yeah. Just in case you didn’t realize it, Steven, this is what a relationship looks like. You get what I’m saying here?”

“Yeah, Danny,” Steve replied earnestly. “We’re partners in everything now. What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine. Especially Grace.” Steve paused to let Danny soak that up before adding, “And your mom’s peanut butter pie recipe.”

They continued to talk softly for hours as Steve alternated between stories about his trip and apologizing for causing Danny so much pain. Danny found himself laughing, teasing, touching, caressing, and doing anything else he could think of to see that spark flare in his partner’s hazel eyes. They fell asleep in the middle of a joke at his nephew’s expense, and Danny slept for the first full night in three weeks.

 

End

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Man, I'm exhausted. This story wouldn't let go of me until I finished it and posted it. Hope you enjoyed this different twist on things! I think it was still sweet and yet meaty with angst. Hope you enjoy!***


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